Round House Theatre Continues 2013 Season with HOW TO WRITE A NEW BOOK FOR THE BIBLE, Now thru 5/5

Round House Theatre continues its 2013 Bethesda season with the East Coast premiere of How to Write a New Book for the Bible, which runs now thru May 5. Producing Artistic Director Ryan Rilette makes his Round House directing debut with this powerful, beautiful new play by Bill Cain, the author of such plays as Equivocation and 9 Circles. Opening night is tonight, April 15, 2013.

In a story taken from Cain's own experiences, a man moves in with his ailing but always funny mother when she becomes too frail to care for herself. Their reunion heals old wounds, opening a heartfelt, humorous new chapter in their relationship. A Jesuit priest as well as an award-winning playwright, Bill Cain brings a fascinating viewpoint to this look at why the details of our lives and loves matter. The San Francisco Chronicle hailed How to Write a New Book for the Bible as "bracingly personal, smart, funny, affecting...[with] sharp wit and penetrating intelligence."

"I'm thrilled that Bill has given us the chance to produce the East Coast premiere of his beautiful, touching, and funny new play," said Rilette. "I had the pleasure of working with Bill on both Equivocation and 9 Circles at Marin Theatre Company, and am excited to introduce his amazing work to the Round House audience."

Tickets range in price from $10 to $61 and may be purchased by calling 240.644.1100, by ordering online at www.roundhousetheatre.org, or at Round House's box office in Bethesda. Tickets for everyone age 30 and under are $10 and $15. Round House Theatre Bethesda is located at 4545 East-West Highway, one block from Wisconsin Avenue and the Bethesda station on Metro's Red Line.

HOW TO WRITE A NEW BOOK FOR THE BIBLE, produced by Round House Theatre, written by Bill Cain and directed by Ryan Rilette, features Ray Ficca, Danny Gavigan, Mitchell Hébert, and MaryBeth Wise.

Creative team: scenic designer Daniel Conway, costume designer Rosemary Pardee, lighting designer Colin K. Bills, sound designer Eric Shimelonis, props master Andrea Moore, assistant director Robby Lufty, and stage manager Erin C. Patrick.

How to Write a New Book for the Bible runs April 10 thru May 5, 2013 with performances on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 7:30pm, Friday and Saturday at 8pm; with matinees on Saturday and Sunday at 3pm. Opening night is Monday, April 15, 2013. Please note: there is no performance on Tuesday, April 16. All performances run at Round House Theatre Bethesda, 4545 East-West Highway (one block from Wisconsin Ave. and Metro's Bethesda station).

Tickets range in price from $10 to $61, and can be purchased by calling 240.644.1100, ordering online at www.roundhousetheatre.org, or visiting the box office in Bethesda. Available discounts include:

Age 30 and Under: $10 Wednesday through Friday, $15 Saturday and Sunday. Proof of age required. Call or visit the box office for tickets.

Pay-What-You-Can: Wednesday, April 10 at 7:30pm & Saturday, April 13 at 3pm. Pay-What-You-Can tickets go on sale in person one hour prior to curtain. Cash and exact change only, limit of 2 tickets per person.

$10 Tuesday: April 23 at 7:30pm and April 30 at 7:30pm. Side Orchestra and Side Balcony seats on these dates are available to all patrons at the discounted price of $10.

65 and older: Seniors received $10 off per full price ticket in the Orchestra and Center Balcony sections. Call the box office for details.

Groups of 10 or more: Save up to $10 per ticket. Call 240.644.1387 for information.

AUDIENCE EVENTS

Designer Discussion (with the costume, set, lighting, and sound designers): Wednesday, April 10 at 6:45pm

Director Discussion (with Ryan Rilette): Friday, April 12 at 7:15pm

Audio-described performance: Saturday, April 20 at 3pm

Post-Show Talkbacks: Wednesday, April 10 thru Sunday, April 14, Sunday, April 21, and Sunday, April 28

Sign-interpreted performance: Saturday, April 27 at 3pm. Reservations for sign interpreting services must be made by April 12.

Bill Cain (Playwright) The world premiere of Bill Cain's How to Write a New Book for the Bible took place during the 2011/12 season at Berkeley Repertory Theatre and Seattle Repertory Theatre. His previous two plays, Equivocation (which premiered at Oregon Shakespeare Festival and subsequently played at Washington, DC's Arena Stage) and 9 Circles (which was recently produced by the DC area's Forum Theatre), both received the American Theater Critics' Association/Steinberg Award, the first time ever that an author received the award in consecutive years. Stand-Up Tragedy was awarded best production honors in Los Angeles and Washington, DC and the Joe A. Callaway Award for its Broadway production. Bill's work for television (including the abc-tv series Nothing Sacred) has been honored with the George Foster Peabody, Humanitas, and Writers' Guild Awards. He is the founder of the Boston Shakespeare Company, where he was Artistic Director for seven seasons, directing most of the Shakespeare canon.

Ryan Rilette (Director) makes his Round House directing debut with How to Write a New Book for the Bible. Prior to joining Round House as Producing Artistic Director in August 2102, he served as Producing Director of Marin Theatre Company for the past five years. For MTC, he has directed the world premieres of Bellwether by Steve Yockey and Magic Forest Farm by Zayd Dohrn. He also directed God of Carnage by Yasmina Reza; Fuddy Meers by David Lindsay-Abaire; Boom by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb; and In The Red and Brown Water by Tarell Alvin McCraney, the first part of The Brother Sister Plays Trilogy, which MTC co-produced with American Conservatory Theatre and Magic Theater, and which was named "the theatrical event of the year" by the San Francisco Chronicle. During his tenure at MTC, the theatre increased revenue from $1.8M in FY08 to $3.2M in FY12, expanded to six shows per season in the Boyer Theater, established an off-site scene shop, created a $500K Artistic & Operating Reserve Fund, and ended every season with a profit. Prior to joining MTC, Rilette served as Producing Artistic Director of Southern Rep Theatre, the leading professional theater in New Orleans, from 2002 to 2007. At Southern Rep, he directed the world premieres of The House of Plunder by Jim Fitzmorris, The Vulgar Soul by John Biguenet, and The Sunken Living Room by David Caudle; and the regional premieres of Edward Albee's The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?, In Walks Ed by Keith Glover, and Kimberly Akimbo by David Lindsay- Abaire. He also commissioned, developed and directed two plays about Hurricane Katrina and its effect on the region: Rising Water by John Biguenet (which was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize) and The Breach by Tarell Alvin McCraney, Catherine Filloux, and Joe Sutton. Rilette is the co-founder and former Artistic Director of Rude Mechanicals Theatre Company, the immediate past president of the National New Play Network, and a former professor at Tulane and Loyola universities in New Orleans. He earned his MFA in Acting from American Conservatory Theatre.

Pictured: Playwright Bill Cain

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